Author Archives: fobif

The Victorian Government announced today that it was expanding ‘existing prospecting and gem hunting areas in National Parks.’ In a quite extraordinary piece of logical acrobatics, Environment Minister Ryan Smith declared that the decision ‘supports recommendations made to the Victorian … Continue reading →

Floods are probably the last thing on anyone’s mind as we endure another heat wave–but it’s a sure thing that they’ll happen again some day. The North Central Catchment Management Authority is looking for ways to soften the blow when … Continue reading →

The State Government’s Improving our waterways: Victorian waterway management  strategy is now out. The important background to this document is that Catchment Management Authorities have had staff cutbacks of around 25%, and DEPI hasn’t done much better. The Strategy is … Continue reading →

The opening event for Connecting Country’s 2014 education program will be a talk by Ian Lunt, Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at Charles Sturt University, Albury. His topic is “Natural regeneration in central Victoria: the biggest positive change … Continue reading →

Forget about that dream cruise on the Rhine, past turreted castles built by German madmen. What about a trip from Lake Weroona in Bendigo down to the sea at Portland, on a first class steamer along a noble canal? Such … Continue reading →

The Wellsford Forest is about 15 kilometres NE of Bendigo. The Bendigo and District Environment Council is holding a forum on the future of this forest on February 6. Speakers include Rod Orr (Bendigo Field Naturalists) on the Values of … Continue reading →

Chilean needle grass is one of our nastier weeds. It can reduce pasture productivity by up to 50%, and its sharp seeds can injure stock and downgrade the quality of wool and hides.  And, like all good weeds, it can … Continue reading →

The poet Les Murray has made the interesting observation that ‘the kangaroo has never heard of Australia.’ The point being that animals don’t see things the way we do. Nowhere is this more evident on a daily basis than on … Continue reading →

The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group (TCCG)  now has 3 new videos on their website: Cactus Warriors: Who We Are; Cactus: Tackling the Problem and Cactus Warriors: the Wheel Cactus. The videos feature Ian Grenda, President of the TCCG, and  run … Continue reading →